Date: December 29, 2011 11:08 PM
Topic: +DEV+ The Setting: Bethlehem
The Setting: Bethlehem
"'But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel...'" (Micah 5:2).
Scripture Focus: Micah 5:1-5
The words of the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem" portray a peaceful, still, sleepy town on the night Jesus was born. Yet with all the family reunions going on in Bethlehem, the place must have been quite a spot for celebrating during the day. Indeed, Bethlehem was unlike the larger, more noteworthy cities such as nearby Jerusalem. Still - as the prophet Micah attested - it was a place of which God had taken note since the very beginning of the history of His people. While God came down that first Christmas night, many in Bethlehem caroused; others slept; all cowered under the shadow of an evil government.
And the treasure of heaven was hidden. No one knew what God was doing. Many still do not know. How often our preoccupations, inactivity, or fears prohibit us from focusing our heads and hearts on what the Lord is doing right under our noses!
The name Bethlehem means "House of Bread." The true Bread of Life was brought to us in lowliness so that we might be raised up with Him.
Insight: "O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin and enter in - be born in us today" (Phillips Brooks, 1865).
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